Audio-Technica - AT-LP140XP Professional Direct Drive Manual Turntable - Black

I spent a lot of time reading reviews on turntables of this type before deciding to buy this one. It needs very little setting up and you can be playing records minutes after getting it out of the box. I made a couple of modifications to mine though. I don’t like rubber platter mats so that was my first change, I prefer mats that are kinder to my vinyl. The fitted bottom of the range stylus was the next change, initially putting a XP5 stylus on the cartridge, phenomenal improvement, but presently have an Ortofon Concorde with an OM10 stylus.My final change was to use a Van Damme cable (hand made from a well known auction site) which adds a bit of icing to the cake. This now plays amazingly though my Yamaha system via my mixer console.Extremely pleased with this turntable which seriously outperforms my high end HiFi (other) turntable which cost considerably more than this one.Having played a lot of records on this deck now, thought I'd revise my review. If I could give this 6 or 7 stars I would. I am a cartridge collector so have alternate cartridges and have tried out quite a selection including Nagaoka mp110, Grado Blue 3, a few really 'vintage' Shure and Ortofon plus Audio Technica VM95 and XP versions. The XP5 works superbly but at present I must recommend the Reloop Vibe which is getting hard to fine but styli are there is you look and fit any Concorde cartridge. These track really well and sound superb, and I ignore the instructions and track mine at 2g. I now have 2 of these turntables having found a second hand one on that auction site, which got delivered a bit smashed due to the seller having no idea how to pack a turntable. After replacing the smashed lid and resetting the arm, it now works quite well, but can be slightly temperamental having an intermittent hum, so these turntables don't like being tampered with even though they are pretty tough although the hum is probably not the deck, but checks so far point to tonearm wiring.Not sure how these would respond to going on the road and would need bombproof cases, but for me to play my records in my study, absolutely amazing and superb....they even withstand having an overweight cat walking over them while a record was playing (which destroyed a stylus and ruined a record) with no other damage...these tonearms are solid.Best deck I have ever owned and should be the last I ever need to buy...unless I win the Lotto.

I bought this turntable upon the recommendation of Amazon buyers, who do not use the hyperbole found in HIFI magazines and forums. They simply give their honest opinions. I wanted to replace an ageing ATLP120USB which performed almost flawlessly except for a slight noise coming from the motor. It has gone to a good home where it will be playing old vinyl which is not in good condition. I was not expecting to hear a much better sound coming from the AT140, and I was right.I did not want to spend lots of cash on a more expensive Technics or Rega turntable because I do not own a sufficient number of brand new vinyl records to justify the cost. I mostly play CD quality digital music files.The turntable turned up on time and in good condition. It was packaged perfectly. Everything you need to get going was supplied including an XP3 cartridge. It took me an hour to unwrap everything, level the table and change the xp3 cartridge for an ATVM95 ML one. I tested the unit carefully, I could hear no noise from the motor even with a cupped ear close to the platter. I could hear no motor noise when the amplifier was turned up to full. I could hear the lightest of hum when the amp was turned up full, but this was masked by the white noise hiss. The hum could have been coming from other sources such as the amplifier or pre-amp but I did not bother to find out. When a record was playing I could hear no wow or flutter and the RPM app on my portable phone (not calibrated) showed that the wow and flutter is much less than specified. The tone arm bearings were in perfect condition and the tone arm moved freely. The anti-skate worked but I could see no need to use it. The pop up stylus light slid up completely. The pitch sliders worked as did the stroboscopic light and dots. The blue lights looked cool enough to be hip and weren't too bright. All the controls worked well. The table was well made and strong, and all the works that matter including the plinth were made of metal and also including the platter ( of aluminium). Records did not skip even though the anti-skate was set to zero. All in all the turntable provided a perfect base for the cartridge to work well.The supplied xp3 cartridge produced sound almost as good as the ATVM95 ML, at 2 grams down force, so you may not feel the need to upgrade it. I already had a Microline cartridge. VM95 styluses will work on the XP3 cartridge.I placed the turntable on a rock solid stand - you must have a solid one. I connected the turntable to a Rrega pre-amp to feed the sound signal to an Audiolab amplifier with Acoustic Energy speakers. The supplied RCA cables worked perfectly so there was no need to change them as suggested by some, so called "Audiophile " experts. The turntable is not supplied with a pre-amp/phono stage, and if your amplifier does not have a phono input then you must buy a pre-amp; a good one will cost about £100.Testing was over. I played an all analogue jazz vinyl LP from 1973 of Stephane Grapelli "I got Rhythm" with the Hot Club of London, and recorded live. The record was still in pristine condition and the music sounded fantastic and full of analogue charm. The violin sounded like a violin, the acoustic guitars sounded like acoustic guitars and the audience sounded like an audience - super duper. I also have this record on CD, the sound quality of the LP approached the sound quality of the CD which was mastered perfectly: therefore I doubt that the sound of the ATLP140 XP and its cartridge can be improved upon without paying thousands more.Of course, a Technics SL1200 GR is built a lot better, but I won't be playing the ATLP140 in a night club or using it every night for 30 years.The ATLP140 is good enough to sound fantastic with good quality vinyl records. It is more than good enough to play my humble collection of 33 1/3 LPs, 45 singles and 78 shellac records. It even has pitch sliders to reduce or increase the pitch of "78" records which have not been recorded at the right speed.If like me, you are an occasional vinyl or shellac music listener and appreciate excellent value for money then I can thoroughly recommend the ATLP140 XP.

Very easy to setup with Audio Technica providing videos online to walk you through the steps. It looks really slick and sounds phenomenal, with so many additional features. I spent a fair amount of time researching turntables and decided on the LP140xp and I’m very happy with it. Listening to Elvis comeback special and I close my eyes and it sounds like I’m in the room. I’m using a DJ pre II preamp and Onkyo receiver with 5.1 surround sound system. Whole setup took less than 10 mins.Not sure you can get better for the money.

Been looking to upgrade for a while. For the last 4 years I've been using a Pro-ject Primary E deck. A more than satisfactory deck for anyone who is not looking forward anything too special, who just wants a standard entry level deck. But I needed to upgrade and this deck was in my price range. It was fairly easy to set up but the difference in sound compared to my old deck is so obvious. I just wish I'd made the change sooner. Buy it, you won't regret it